UX/UI Design + Research // Experimental Photography

I am asked repeatedly, “If you had to choose one lens…”, “Which was your first lens…”, or, “If you had to sacrifice one lens from your kit…”, which are all indirect ways of asking, “I don’t know what I’m doing yet, toss me a bone here, where do I start?” Time to spill the beans. The cosmic answer is just…

Rented the Nikkor 24mm F1.4 G last weekend from the fine folks over at http://sg.camerarental.biz for a late night shoot. Without revealing any more details, the shoot was for a band, and the image they were after was along the lines of Wong Kar-wai style cinematography. Since I would be working discreetly in tight, darkly lit spaces, I picked up…

Finally got a “yes” at a Chinese medicine shop to shoot a few photos. Rarely do they let me take photos inside, maybe it was the nice weather that day. I had friends visiting from out of town and took them for a walk around Chinatown where I live. This one TCM was quite busy, I walked in and politely…

I’m in Tokyo at the moment, the usual back and forth between my two current homes(the other being Singapore). Went out the other night with my friend Katsu to do a photo walk through the back streets of Shibuya. There is an entirely different side to Shibuya that few people are aware of, past the Donki, past the H&M, past…

I am not going to “tell all” about my techniques, however I do want to share some neat tips from time to time that might clear up a few mysteries for some of you. This is for the uninitiated who have just stepped into the wonderful and mysterious world of digital photography, for those who shelled out a whole lot…

I will always maintain that there is no right or wrong with photography, like any other form of art, it is all a matter of perception. In recent years I have been asked how I take such pictures, how do I get “those colors” or how did I manage “that shot”. It is more a matter of being completely comfortable…

A week ago I went for my second visit to Yong Peng, Malaysia and I loved every minute of it. It’s a neat little town that’s easy to access from bus routes into Malaysia from Singapore. A good friend of mine is from this town and invited me to visit last year. I went for a weekend and it turned…

Taking a candid shot at point blank is rather difficult when your target isn’t preoccupied with a phone or a music player. This woman was fixing her hair in a antique Chinese mirror when I walked by. I snapped a few shots, but they really didn’t catch the mood or the scene that I was seeing. You can see the…

It is quite easy to find a print shop in Singapore to develop black and white film, what is painfully difficult is finding a print shop who will also scan your film to CD and not sharpen your photos to death. I have had very little luck finding a print shop that does not commit the outrageous crime of scanning…

I originally wrote this post out of frustration for the high cost of printing at one particular print shop near Chinatown. See my latest post on my two favorite print shops who I highly recommend for their excellent quality and great prices.

This has become a sort of ongoing mission of mine, fueled by my fascination and love for local cultures and cuisines, to find and eat the ultimate kopi and kaya toast. After moving to Singapore a year ago, I became fascinated by the unique local art of coffee brewing with a sock. I became enamoured by the passion the locals…

I picked up a Nikkor 20mm F2.8 AFD about a year ago, weighing it against the Voigtlander 20mm F3.5 at the time. I went with the Nikkor only for the extra speed and autofocus, thinking I would get more performance out of it at night than I would with the 3.5 Voigtlander. I also figured my friends might want to…

Been taking my 50mm F1.2 out a bit more lately, love shooting food with it, although there are better lenses more suited for food photography, I still prefer the out-of-focus this one produces. Not to mention on an FX it’s actually quite sharp at F1.2, whereas when I was shooting back on DX, F1.2 was much more challenging, and often…

Took a moment to step outside and peruse the alleys of Chinatown. I like the late hours when everyone is wrapping up and going home, everyone is too tired to bother noticing the guy with the camera hanging out by the lamp post. There are lots of interesting characters in this area, the real challenge is filtering through them and…

I take my D700 and 85mm F1.4 out with me as frequently as I wear socks every day. It comes with me nearly everywhere, almost every day. That’s about 1kg hanging around my neck at any given time, not sure what that’s doing to my back and posture… Spent some time having lunch near Tanjong Pagar MRT, big fruit market…

Before I head back to Singapore I had to get in one more walk around Akihabara to shoot some maids. I was sorely disappointed to see only really two variations in their costumes, a sign that someone is monopolizing the maid scene with these standard outfits walking along the main streets and back allies touting the same cafe. I got…

Finally received my remote shutter release, a wired one, and I’m really enjoying it. I can hang my camera from my neck, check the horizon line by using the mini-level I have on my hotshoe, and keep the trigger in my pocket and shoot like that. It adds another level of “discreteness” to my candid shots.

I’m back in Tokyo, my natural environment. It’s good to be back, I have been living here for over eight years and love this city. Another nice aspect of being back here are the extraordinary second hand camera lens shops. I have my eye on a used 35mm F1.4 ais…

It has been nearly half a year since I arrived in Singapore, my life here is quite different from my life back in Japan. My daily routines have been slowly reconfigured to fit this new premise and my usual timing has also been readjusted. Rather than starting my day at 10AM I find myself up and at my favorite hawker…

For the entire month of May, I will be showing my Japan photos at Shots Café: Shots Café 8 Ann Siang Hill 069788 The exhibition is for charity, the profit from every photo sold will be donated to the relief efforts in Japan. Please stop by for a visit! I will be organizing a party for this coming week and…

Had the unique opportunity to shoot the Singapore Dance Theatre’s rehearsal of Romeo & Juliet by Goh Choo San. For the occasion I borrowed a 70-200mm F2.8 VR I which I greatly enjoyed. That lens is just outstanding for the low-light conditions of the theatre. Many good lessons learned from the experience. More information on the show here: http://www.singaporedancetheatre.com/performance/index.asp I…

For some time I have been following my favorite photographers on Flickr who have shot numerous beautiful series of street portraits. Their series inspired me to the degree that I too wished to try my hand at it. As I have spent much of my time shooting candids, I chose this time to get personal and ask permission. Not a…

I miss Shibuya. It’s been a few months here and I just couldn’t figure out where the freaks hang. I have been following some photographers work that often shows the kind of subjects that I like to shoot in and around the Orchard area. Since I’m staying over on the West coast, getting to Orchard isn’t a casual affair, and…

Spent the weekend on Bintan Island, most of the time in Tanjung Pinang city. This was my first taste of Indonesia and I liked it. Lots of familiar sights and smells, and lots of beautiful colors. Did the whole walk with the 85mm F1.4 and 20mm F2.8. Used the 85mm for the majority of the time to shoot candids, then…